Letter-carrier&#39;s portfolio.



F. W. WILSON. LETTER OARRIERS PORTFOLIO.

APPLICATION IILED PEBHI, 1911.

Patented Sept. 3, 1912 2 sums-sum 1.

mllumllllllllllluul Witnesses ride WMZWIZ lnvntor.

. Attorneys F. W. WILSON.

LETTER OARRIERS PORTFOLIO.

APPLICATION rum) rmm, 19 11.

Patented Sept. 3, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wade/22% 7404 1780]? lnvntor Attorneys FREDERICK W. WILSON,. OF UPPER MARLBORO, MARYLAND.v

LETTER-CARBIERS PGRTFOLIO;

Specification of; Letters letenti Patented Sept. 3; I912.

Application. filedeEebruany 7, 1911. Serial Nb. 607,121..

Be. it known that I, Fnnnnnron. V. VII;- soN, a citizen of the- United states, residing at Upper Marlboro, in the county of Prince Georges and State of Maryland, haveinvented a new and useful Letter-Garrier'srPort-folio, of which the followingis a specification.

The device forming the subject matter-0f this application, is adapted tobe used primarily by rural mail carriers.

It is the object of this invention toprovide a portfolio for the use of mail carriers and others, so constructed that articles may be easily mounted in the portfolio and removed therefrom, the portfolio being so conSlTllCtGd that, when closed together, it will house its contents against the elements.

nolher object of the.invent-ion is to pro vide a portfolio adapted to hold a plurality of articles, the portfolio being so constructed that when thesame is closed together, the articles will be prevented from sliding about, or changing'their relative positions within the portfolio.

\Yith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the eombination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe precise embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed withi out departing from the spirit of theinvention.

1n the drawings,-Figure 1 shows the invention in perspective, andv swungopen; Fig; 2 aside elevation showing the de vice in closed position; Fig. is an end elevation showing thedeviee in closed position; Fig. 4 is a transverse section upon the line A-B of Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrow C, the device, however, being folded into the closed. position. shown in ig. 3; Fig. 5 is a transverse section upon. the line AcB of Fig. 1,. looking inv the direction of the arrow 1), the device,

Fig. 7 is a transverse section upon t heglipcf.

E4 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, and describing the invent-ion in general terms, the same consists of a box-like body 1, open atone sideand at one end. To one end of the body 1 a. lid 2 is hinged, this lid 2' serving as a, closure for the open: side of: the body L. A narrow leaf 3' and. a wide leaf 4 are lnngedz to. the body 1, and the body 1 is prbvidcd with aflexibleflap 5,. adapted: to be folded over the open end' of the body, and over the end of, the lid 2, when the device is;closed, as shown in Figs. 3 and 2. The flap. 5 carries an upstanding eye 6, whereby thestructure may be suspended from; a shoulder sling, or fromlw supportin mail. The lid 2 carries a latch: 7, adapted to extend through a hole in theflap 5',.the

innenfaceof the flap 5 being pnovi'ded,

about theperiphery of the hole 8, with: a face plate 9, seen in Fig: 1.

In a more detailed description, the body lconsists of a stiff back. 10, side walls 11, and: an end wall 12. The body 1 is-inclosed by acoveriug, ordinarily of leather, or other waterproof material. The 'fiap 5 isincluded in this covering, the covering being carried along the back; 10, as shown. at 14, g

and being-extended upon the side walls 11 as at 15. The-covering is carried across the end wall: 12 as at 16, and isextended upon the backing 17 of the lid 2, as denoted by the numeral 118. The lid 2 carries, along the 'lateral. edges, outstandingribs 19; These ribs IQMOVQIlflf). the side walls of the body 1, and serve to protect the contents of the portfolio against the elements.

The wide leaf 4' is of substantially the same-width as the body 1. This leaf is preferably hinged, as shown at 20 in Fig. 1, in the angle defined by the back 10 and: the end wall 12' of the body. The narrow leaf 3 is of approximately one-half the width of the wide leaf 4'. This narrow leaf is hingcdg'. asshown at 21 to the body 1 along the outer edge of the end Wall 1201 the body.

Secured to the inner face of the lid 2 is an. artiele-holder, the same ordinarily consistingrof a spring clip 22. A ledge 23 outstands from the narrow leaf 3, along the upper edge thereof. Secured to the wlde leaf 4, adjacent the upper, outer corner thereof, is an upper rack 24. Secured to the wide leaf 4, below the rack 24, and extensed transversely of the wide leaf, are a. plurality of lower racks 25. The specific construction of these racks 24 and 25 will be dealt with hereinafter, and fully ex' plained.

and 5, and there denoted by the numeral 27.

The. upper rack 24 may be employed for holding a plurality of books-of stamps, as shown at in Fig. 5. The space 28 which exists between'the wide leaf 4 and the back 10 of the body may be employed to contain sheets of parafiin paper, between which,

sheets of stamps are interleaved. The space 29 upon the inner face of the lid 2, below the clip 22, may be employed to support papers of various sorts, while the'same are being written upon.

The clip 22 is so positioned u on the lid 1 2 that when the books 26 are in t is clip, the

books 26-will register between the book of stamps 30 which is within the rack 24, and the hinged edge 20 of the wide leaf 4; the device being in the closed position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When the device is open, as shown in Fig. 1, the narrow leaf 3 may be swung into contact with the lid 2, the ledge 23 upon the narrow leaf 3, in such instance, extending beneath the books 26 which are in the clip 22, and revent-ing the books from being displaced rom the clip. When'the device is positioned inclosed form, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, this ledge 23 will register between the book of stamps 30 and the books 26 upon the one hand, and the post cards 7, and the like, denoted by the numeral 27, upon the otherhand. By this construction, the contents of the portfolio cannot slide transversely of the portfolio and damage each other, nor become intermingled. Ob-

viously, referrin to Figs. 4 and 5, the side walls 11 of the ody 1 cooperate with the ledge 23 in holding the articles in the mem hers-22, 24, and 25. The leaves 3 and 4 are provided with tabs 30 for the swinging of the leaves.

By referring to Figs. 6 and 7 it will be seen that a resilient band 31 is superposed upon. the wide leaf 4, the wide leaf 4, in

such instance, constituting a supporting member. A plate 32 is inclosed by the resilient band 31, and securing devices, ordinarily staples 33 or the like, are extended through the wide leaf 4, through the plate 32, and through that portion of the band 31 which is disposed between the plate and the leaf. Although the-racks 24 and 25 may be modified to meet the exigencies of the proposed use, the form of rack delineated in the drawings, will afford a simple and inexpensive structure.

When the device is foldedtogether, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, it may, readily be carried about, and the construction is such that the contents of the device will be adequately protected. Upon occasion, the device may'be opened, as shown in Fig; 1, for the removal or insertionof, stamps, books, envelops and the like.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is a A portfolio for letter carriers comprising a box-like body open at one side and provided with a side wall and with one end wall only; a primary leaf adapted to fit closely in the body and to lie against the side wall of the body; a secondary leaf; a lid; the secondary leaf being narrower than the primary leaf and being adapted to lie against the lid; upper and lower article-holders upon the primary leaf above and below the upper ed e of the secondary leaf, the secondary leaf constituting a protection for the articles in the lower holder and permitting the removal ofarticles from the upperv holder when the leaves are parallel and within the body; the primary leaf upon the one hand, and the lid and the secondary leaf upon the other handbeing hinged to opposite edges of the end wall and constituting the sole leaves within the body, thereby permitting an accumulation in the lower holders, between the primary and secondary leaves.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aifixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK W. WILSON.

Witnesses:

WM. S. HILL, C. F. OWEN. 

